If Wishes Were Thestrals, Beggars Would Ride
by Savior of the Truth
Summary: This is a 5-chaptered fanfiction, following Remus and Tonks on five summers in their lives. RLNT. R&R! Rated to be safe. Complete.
1. Broken Crockery Brings You Luck

_Wotcher pals! Well, I'm back again with a story… hope you enjoy!_

_Disclaimer : ... imagine the possibilities … eight movies dealing with nothing but Remus and Tonks… from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part two… and they wouldn't even die if I had the rights for the story… why is it that I simply can't convince JKR to merely LEND them to me?? sigh_

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**If Wishes Were Thestrals, Beggars Would Ride**

"_Broken Crockery Brings You Luck"_

Nymphadora Tonks was sitting in front of a small two-men tent and staring into the clear blue afternoon sky. She sighed. She felt very content right now. Not three days ago had she successfully finished her Auror's training, with top marks at Concealment and Disguise. Given she was a metamorphmagus, she, of course, had not had any difficulty at all to change her appearance. Now she was sitting – on a warm Monday afternoon – in front of the small muggle tent she was sharing with her father.

Ted Tonks had surprised his daughter on Friday evening, handing her two tickets for the Quidditch World Championship. The twenty-one year old woman was positively awed at the prospect of seeing the Quidditch World Cup final. Three years she had lived without free time, always studying hard, but in the end, all the work had paid out.

As present for her successful training, achieving a job at the Aurors office at the Ministy of Magic on the way, she had gotten the tickets from her parents. They had assumed she would take one of her friends along, but seeing as she had had no time to make any friends in the first place – being kind of a freak with her morphing powers didn't help either – she had decided to take her father. Her mother had gladly volunteered to stay home, because she didn't like such mass gatherings of people and was no fan of Quidditch, either.

"Dora," said a voice from inside the tent. "Come and have a look! It's marvellous!"

Nymphadora crawled through the entrance and looked up. She couldn't stand in the tent. Her father was sitting on his slepping bag, reading a leaflet which obviously concerned the program of the match. They had agreed to take the muggle tent instead of her mothers wizards' one. There may have been a magically conjured appartment with toilet and bathroom and kitchen in the wizard tent, but Nymphadora and Ted thought that it was much more fun the muggle way.

"Look, here are complete biographies of all bulgarian and irish players," Ted showed her the page. Nymphadora looked at it briefly and then turned to the entrance.

"I'm going to get us some water," she announced quite cheerfully and was already halfway out of the tent when she heard her father's voice say "be careful" behind her. She stuck her head back into the tent and stuck her tongue out at him. Ted grinned at her. She was clumsy and he liked to tease her about it. But she wasn't really angry at him. It was kind of a running gag between them.

She picked up the grey bucket which was sat beside their tent and made her way along the field witch was covered with tents all over. There were small, muggle-looking ones and obviously magical ones. The latters were very much like real houses, with various floors or even real gardens around them. Others were decorated in the bulgarian or irish national colours, with posters of the bulgarian Seeker, Viktor Krum, or enormous green irish flags.

Nymphadora smiled to herself, content that she did not have to work yet. Her job started on September 1st and she thought of running around all day to remind people to keep the magic hidden.

It was already late afternoon and the match would start around sundown, so nearly everyone was getting constantly excited. Children were running around the place, chasing each other between tents, adults were sitting in the sun, enjoying the weather, and school kids were talking excitedly in groups. There were witches and wizards from every country in the world, and Nymphadora couldn't suppress a wide smile stretching across her face at the thought of so many people enjoying themselves together.

…

Remus Lupin made his way carefully along the way between hundreds of tents. He cast a look at the sky and wondered how exactly it could be so blue. Completely oblivious to all the ongoings in the wizarding world. Remus was walking by people of every age and nation, all of whom were chatting excitedly about the Quidditch match that was about to start in a few hours. But Remus would not attend the match.

Dumbledore had sent him, asking Remus to keep a hidden eye on Harry Potter while the latter was there to enjoy the Quidditch World Cup final.

Remus' face was hidden under his hood. Every witch and wizard in England knew about his condition, after the countless articles Rita Skeeter had written for the _Prophet_ since the end of the term, where she accused Albus Dumbledore for letting a werewolf teach at Hogwarts. Thus, was Remus not the most welcome person to show his face in public.

Remus looked around. Nobody was paying him attention anyway, so he risked to shrug off his hood and welcomed a nice breeze blowing through his hair.

…

Nymphadora reached the place where a water tap was placed and situated herself in the queue. It took a whole ten minutes to actually reach the tap and get the water, because right in front of her was a very old witch who did not seem to be able to gather the strength to turn the thing on. Then the old witch refused to let herself be helped and finally, after some annoyed shouts from the end of the queue, Nymphadora lost her nerve and turned the water tap, unnoticed by anyone, with her wand.

On her way back, the bucket only filled to two thirds with water, due to some stumbling, she ran into Bill and Charlie Weasley, whom she knew from Hogwarts. They had a little chat and when they parted again, Charlie shouted "Don't trip!" after her. She threw a Tripping Jinx at him and watched him taking down his brother as well.

Still sniggering, she nearly bumped into an exhausted looking man. He wore a pair of heavily patched robes and though he seemed quite young, he had grey-streaked hair.

"Sorry," the young woman apologised. The man looked at her, slightly captured by her violently pink hair.

"Don't mention it," he responded and made to resume his path.

Nymphadora turned around and watched him go. He was thin and tall but had a steady step. His light brown hair – including the grey strands of course – looked slightly dishevelled.

"Hey!" she called after him with a sudden urge of pushing the sad look off his face. The man turned around. "Have fun at the match!" she shouted and flashed him her nicest smile.

An astonished look washed over his face and then he smiled back at her. "Same to you."

Nymphadora grinned to herself and walked back to her tent. "What are you smiling about?" her father asked suspiciously.

"Nothing."

It was not long before the sun had disappeared behind the treetops and the darkness had fallen on the whole place, when the lights in the forest had lighted and people were excitedly making their way through the forest and into the huge stadium beyond it.

Nymphadora and Ted joined the other witches and wizards on their path and after half an hour, they had taken their seats in the Irish fan corner. They were sitting in the very middle and halfway up the seats. It was not the best place but they did not let themselves down due to a second-class view.

Nymphadora laughed at the man beside her, who started tap-dancing when the Veela, the bulgarian mascots, sang and performed. Ted had stuck his fingers into his ears.

The match was amazing and over much too soon. Nymphadora and Ted discussed Lynchs spectacular crashs and laughed at Krums broken nose.

"The break of his nose might only have improved his looks…" the young woman snorted. Ted laughed along with his daughter.

It had been a fast match. The highlights being the double-performed Wronsky-Bluff and the fight of the team mascots, nicely finished by Krum bleeding on the whole pitch. Father and daughter walked back to their tent together and enjoyed themselves on their way. They sat in the grass in front of their 'home' for a quite a while, celebrating along with the Irish, before they heard distinct bangs getting louder and louder. At first nobody cared, everyone apparently under the impression that some Ireland-fans started to cross the line. But the cheers and wrongly sung national hymns rapidly turned into screams of fear. The red and green lights of the Leprechans faded and were replaced by orange flames, black smoke and the smell of burning cloth.

Ted and Nymphadora – as well as most people around them – fell silent and listened. The screams were growing louder, the noise obviously coming in their direction. Suddenly the shouts of fear were joined by screams of pain and despair. Nymphadora exchanged a look with her father. Something was going terribly wrong. They stood up and, like everyone else around them, pulled their wands from their robes. All gazes were fixed onto the end of the field, where there was an orange glow above the roofs of the last tents.

Then, four figures came into view, two adults and two children. Nymphadora covered her mouth with her wandless hand and Ted gasped beside her. The four people were hanging in the air, helplessly, screaming in fear and pain. It was a bizarre view.

Underneath them, one could only make out a dark group of people with pointed hoods. At once, the scenery began to go haywire. People were running everywhere, in all directions, into the woods, towards the entrance of the tent place, everywhere but far away from the fire and the screams and the hooded figures.

Nymphadora stood rooted to the spot, torn between running and hiding and helping. Due to the true Hufflepuff she was, she finally decided on helping and began to move towards the trouble.

Like in a trance she heard her father calling after her. She turned and saw him rushing to her side.

"Dora! Let's go together!" he suggested and raised his wand.

Nymphadora nodded determinedly. They began to run towards the black mass, while most people chose the other direction. Nymphadora pushed her way through an extraordinarily thick crowd of horrified witches and wizards – all of them running the other way, of course – and just reached a group of Ministry Wizards when she noticed her father's absence.

"Dad?" she shouted, more than a little worried. "Dad!"

The hooded – and now, one also saw that they were masked – people had now approached the Ministry officials, the pink haired girl no more wanting to help defeat them, but desperate to find her father.

Nymphadora Tonks turned her back on the Death Eaters, clearly intending to look for her father. She turned the direction where they had come from and screamed his name, tears of fear now stinging in her dark eyes. She turned her gaze towards the forest and there she saw it.

The Dark Mark.

A bright, sparkling, green skull had risen over the tops of the trees, lighting the whole bizarre scenery in a creepy way. Then the skull's jaw opened and out of its mouth slithered a huge red snake. The young Auror knew what this sign meant; it was You-Know-Who's sign, only to be conjured by one of his followers; a Death Eater. Now she really was terrified.

The next things happened very fast. Behind Nymphadora were several shouts and pops to be heard. She turned her head, more out of reflex than anything else and saw the masked figures disapparating. The Ministry guys tried to hex them, but it was no use. Then they saw the green skull right above the forest and most of them disapparated as well – to the source of the Mark, Nymphadora thought – but some started simply running in the direction, one of them unintentionally hitting the pink-haired girl in the process and knocking her out.

…

Remus was near the forest when he noticed the noise and the fire. He looked around to check if Harry was safe; he was with Arthur Weasley and his friends. They seemed to be heading into the forest where they assumed it to be safe, so Remus decided to have a look at what was causing the trouble.

He made his way along the edge of the forest, rushing along just in the secure shadow of the trees, drawing nearer and nearer to the fire that had by then consumed the first tents. People were rushing past him in the opposite direction, seeking security in the woods behind him.

Remus, wand clutched in his hand, stopped deas in his tracks when he saw what exactly was happening. There were people hanging in the air, defenceless, helpless, crying, afraid of what would happen to them. Remus recognised one as the Muggle caretaker of the camping field. The other three must have been his wife and children. Remus swallowed. Underneath the floating Muggles he saw a group of black hooded, masked people.

He had seen them years before. Death Eaters.

Remus gasped and tightened his grip on his wand. He began to slowly walk towards the mass of masked figures, until he was right near them, nothing but a tent separating him from Voldemort's followers.

Right as he was about to strike – he had a clear view on a bunch of Ministry Officials and saw that they were getting ready to fight – there was a crash behind Remus and several people screamed. He turned his head slowly, his eyes meeting the quite familiar green glimmer of the Dark Mark. The blood drenched off Remus' face. He tensed, stood, paralysed, until the Ministry Wizards disapparated, a few running past him.

He saw the Death Eaters disapparating as well and joined a couple of quick-minded wizards, who had raised their wands to stop the Muggles' fall. They levitated the horrified family slowly to the ground and Remus aided the Officials in escorting the terrified and confused caretaker and his wife, as well as his son and daughter back to the entrance. They were most definitely going to be thoroughly obliviated.

Through the window of the Muggle's house, Remus witnessed Arthur Weasley and his children, as well as Hermione and most importantly Harry, taking a portkey and disappearing. He sighed. He had been afraid to have neglected his duty to keep Harry safe. But the boy had appeared to be safe and healthy.

Remus exited the house and watched a couple more families – and a few familiar faces as well – leaving the place. He kept hiding in the shadows of the early morning sun until he thought of what better to do with his time. He re-entered the camping field and began walking all the way towards the forest, looking for injured or unconscious persons on his way.

Right near the place where the Death Eaters had disappeared the previous night, Remus noticed – amongst all the destroyed tents – a mass of pink hair. He gasped, remembering the cheerful girl he had met the day before.

He rushed to her side and – she was laying face down – turned her around. Her beautiful pale face was peaceful and still. He supported her back with his left arm and brushed a lock of her pink hair from her forehead.

…

The hysteric noise was gone when her conscience returned. Nymphadora opened her eyes slowly, taking in the smell of burnt cloth and smoke. There was indeed smoke in the air, it hung like fog between the few tents that were still standing. The only noise was the rustling of the leaves in the trees and the soft breathing of a person nearby.

Immediately remembering what had happened, the young woman's eyes widened. She looked up and saw a familiar face. It was lined, though still young and he was smiling gratefully at her. It was the man whom she had met earlier, before the match and all the confusion.

"How are you?" he asked quietly. She noticed that they were kneeling on the ground and he had one arm draped around her back and her head actually rested on his shoulder. She blushed slightly.

"I think I'm fine, thanks," she replied. "Where is everyone?"

The stranger smiled sadly. "A lot of them disapparated, the others already packed and are now waiting at the entrance to get a portkey."

Nymphadora's face constricted with worry, a familiar lump in her throat making it difficult for her to speak. "My dad… I lost him at some point tonight… "

"What's your name?" the man asked calmly. He seemed the master of the situation, well, thought Nymphadora, maybe he's here alone, maybe he has no one to worry about.

"Nymphadora Tonks," she finally answered his question.

A strange look of acknowledgement and relief placed itself on his face. "Your dad being Ted Tonks?"

Her jaw dropped. She nodded numbly. Had they found him? Was he-?

Her fear must have shown plainly on her face, because the man smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry, he's alright. Just a few bruises. I'll take you back to him. Can you stand?"

But the girl in his arms just threw herself into him and hugged him tightly. "Thank Merlin!"

Remus patted her shoulder awkwardly. Normally people wouldn't even touch him. But, of course, the girl did not know who he was. Feeling it unpolite not to introduce himself, he attempted so. But the pink-haired witch interrupted him.

"I know who you are. I just remembered," she smirked, finally standing up. Remus' heart dropped. "You are Remus Lupin, right? You taught Harry Potter last year."

Remus stared at her. He had imagined her mentioning the mindless act to insert a werewolf as professor. Well, he'd been wrong.

"What's he like? Harry Potter that is," she asked cheerfully as they started walking towards the entrance of the camping field. "I've always wanted to meet him …"

Remus smiled genuinely. She must have known about his condition, for it had been all about the newspapers a couple of weeks ago, and yet she didn't seem to particularly care.

"Harry… he's very… modest. He has done things not even a grown wizard would have been able to deal with. And yet he's still indigenous. Though he has a certain habit to get himself into trouble…" Remus trailed off, thinking he might be boring her to death, but a quick glance to his right showed him that Nymphadora was listening intently.

Remus did not resume his soliloquy, so Nymphadora took the conversation into her hands. "That reminds me of my cousin, Sirius, he always told me stories about his mischief at Hogwarts," she laughed at the memories, but then her face darkened, "but he was in Azkaban and now he's on the run. My colleague, Kingsley Shacklebolt is entrusted with the case. I don't quite know the whole story actually, though my mother still claims he is innocent…"

She stopped talking because Remus' face had become white and in his eyes pure shock was shown. "Are you…" he stopped walking and looked at her suspiciously, "Are you an Auror?"

"I'm starting on September 1st," the young witch replied. Then she started to remember something. "Say, who conjured the Dark Mark back there?"

The blood was back in Remus' face, and he looked thoughtfully back towards the forest, where the Dark Mark had shone brightly not two hours before. His gaze flew over the smashed and burnt tents, over the smoke lingering everywhere and finally came to a halt on two spakling dark eyes.

"I don't know. They didn't catch them." Remus replied somewhat lamely.

"He's alive, isn't he? You-know-who," she added due to his confused look. "No one wants to say so, but I can tell… something's happening… people disappearing…"

"He might come back, yes. In fact, I think so," Remus watched her face considerately.

Nymphadora stared at the forest for a second longer and then turned her back on the place. "I'm gonna be ready. I won't close my eyes from reality once he returns."

Remus did not smile. In fact he made a mental note to himself to do something, once Voldemort would be back to his powers. Together they resumed their way towards the entrance of the tent park, where Ted Tonks, amongst many others, was waiting for the survivors to return. He came running towards them, hugging his daughter closely when they arrived.

"Are you okay, Dora?" he asked and released her slowly. He glanced her up and down and then noticed Remus, who was standing awkwardly behind the scene, not wanting to intrude the happy reunion.

"Remus! Thank you so much!" Ted exclaimed and shook the werewolf's hand gratefully.

After arranging everything, a portkey was waiting for Nymphadora and Ted to bring them home.

Remus watched them disappear in a blue glow. He had not said farewell or goodbye. In fact he was sure "See you" had been an appropriate term.

He was sure he had not seen her for the last time in his life.

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_Whoa. This is gonna be my first multi-chaptered fic in AGES… actually, if I can think of something interesting to write about. Because I'm rubbish at long fanfics. Bugger._

_Will they ever meet again? Who conjured the Dark Mark? And what the bloody hell are Spectrespecs? Find out in the next chapter! Or maybe not. Please Review anyways.  
_


	2. Don't Count Your Kneazles Before

_Firstly: Thanks to my reviewers! Maiden of the Heavens, digigirl02, owlreader, tamara72 and ladylish!_

_Secondly: Enjoy!_

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_**If Wishes Were Thestrals, Beggars Would Ride**_

"_Don't Count Your Kneazles Before They Are Hatched"_

Remus sighed tiredly and rubbed the brick of his nose. Beside him, Sirius was drooling onto the Noble and Most Ancient kitchen table of the Blacks.

There had been a meeting, roughly an hour ago, which had them left completely exhausted. The Order of the Phoenix had reunited after thirteen years. One week ago, the Trimagic Tournament had ended in a disaster. Harry Potter had returned from the maze, clutching the body of his fellow Cedric Diggory. The latter had been killed by Lord Voldemort, on a graveyard miles and miles away from Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore had acted instantly: he had gathered a number of people and established Sirius' old family home as headquarters of the Order. Remus had been especially grateful for that, because he had not had a proper job since his teaching days one year ago. Therefore he had not been able to rent an apartment and had lived on a few Sickles a month.

Now he had a home. A bed to sleep in and next week the Weasleys would arrive and spend the rest of the holidays at #12 Grimmaul Place, meaning the meals would get better. Up until now Sirius had been in charge for cooking since he was not allowed to leave the house. He was still a known and rewarded criminal. Remus had been trying to recruite members for the Order, seeing as half the people from last time had died, but he had not been especially lucky.

Most people seemed to remember what he was, after all.

Dumbledore had been telling them all to try and convince as many witches and wizards they could that Voldemort was back. They had already had a great deal of success, for example Kingsley Shacklebolt had joined them, a skilled Auror, who additionally was able to lay false tracks for the Sirius Black Search Section, as he was the responsible wizard in the case.

Remus suddenly sat upright in his chair. His thoughts had led him to an idea. He shook his companions shoulder.

"Sirius," he addressed the snoring man beside him. "Padfoot, wake up."

A human face appeared beneath the unkempt mass of black hair. Sirius Black emerged and shot Remus a confused look. "What? Who died?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Nobody died. I just had an idea for a new Order member."

"So?" Sirius sat up slightly straighter and looked at Remus, his face showing only mild interest.

"What about your cousin?" Remus suggested.

"What? Andromeda?" Sirius looked incredulously unconvinced, since Andromeda was the only one of his relatives without tendency to murder her own family. "I don't think she-"

"No," Remus interrupted him, waving the thought away with his hand. "Not Andromeda. I was thinking about her daughter, Nymphadora."

…

The quiet _pop_ went unnoticed by the ruckus on the street. Remus was relieved to find the side street empty. He adjusted his patched robes and stepped into the ruby-red sunlight. The sun was not yet down, and the shadows of the passing people on High Street in Hogsmeade were stretched out long behind or before them.

Remus walked into the blinding sunlight, and after two minutes he entered a pub called Three Broomsticks. He let his gaze wander for a moment, before he made his way towards a table in the right corner of the room, where a young witch sat and his heartbeat picked up slightly. She wore a pair of heavy dark red boots and also a pair of crimson robes.

"Hello," he breathed in her ear before settling on the bench opposite her, a smile stretched across his lined face.

She shivered involuntarily and her facial expression changed from startled to pleasantly surprised. "Wotcher!"

"How are you?" Remus asked, conversationally.

"Fine, thanks. And you?"

"Thanks, I'm doing alright. I asked Kingsley to tell you to meet me here tonight for a reason," Remus started without much small talk. He thought it better to come straight to the point, because if she wasn't interested, the disappointment would be less painful, or so he imagined.

He really did hope that she would volunteer and while he explained, the Order – the Ministry's attitude – he observed her closely for any sign of antipathy, but if she disliked the idea of joining a known criminal, a werewolf, a bunch of blood-traitors – not to mention the slightly mental ex-auror – and some other average people, she certainly did not show it.

Nymphadora Tonks listened interestedly, as Remus talked about the measures which needed to be taken and the more helping hands there were, the better. He talked for at least half an hour, giving her a colourful impression of what was waiting for her. At last, he leant back in his seat and looked directly into her dark, sparkling eyes.

"Now it is for you to decide," he ended his speech. Subconsciously, his whole body tensed, awaiting her answer.

Remus studied the pink-haired girl – woman, he reminded himself – before him. But he needn't wait long. Nymphadora answered almost at once.

"I'm in!" she whispered over the tabletop, grinning from ear to ear, quite as though Remus had just invited her to a huge portion of ice cream.

Remus leaned closer towards her, resting his hands on the table, entwining them. "Are you absolutely sure? It would practically mean a double life, you shall not talk about Order issues to friends or family. It is dangerous."

The young woman opposite him returned his serious look. "I am aware of that. I want to join. I want to do something to stop that murdering git."

Remus smiled. "Well, there's one thing you need to know before your first meeting-"

"I know you are a werewolf," she cut him off, startling him to an extent, "It was all in the newspapers last year."

Remus cast a nervous glance around the crowded room. "That's not what I meant, but it'll make different things easier to deal with. No, I was talking about your cousin, Sirius Black."

Nymphadora tensed unnoticably, but Remus noticed though. "What about him?" she asked, throwing him a suspicious look. "If you think that I know where is, then-"

But this time Remus cut her off. "I know where he is," he whispered. "But I'd prefer to elaborate that where it's even more secure than in a noisy, crowded pub."

…

They stood in front of a house. Well, actually, right in the middle between two houses. They were old, dark and in the middle of London. Remus had side-along-Apparated her to the place, because as he was not the secret keeper of the precise location, he was not able to tell her where to Apparate to. The 22-year old woman looked up at the impressively unimpressive walls before her.

"Memorize this." Remus shoved a piece of paper into her hand and she unfolded it with trembling fingers. She was a bit nervous to say the least, because she – absolutely correctly – assumed that she would be the youngest in the secret organisation she was about to join.

'_The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London.'_

"Is that Dumbledore's handwriting?" Nymphadora asked, her eyes widening.

"Just memorize it, Nymphadora," Remus replied with a kind smile.

Her hair turned the faintest shade of red. "Don't call me Nymphadora. I mean, please, call me Tonks. I hate my first name," she added quickly so as not to sound too discourteous.

"Very well, then, please just memorize it, Tonks," Remus corrected himself with an unnoticable chuckle to himself.

Tonks noticed that her first name sounded nicer coming from his lips. She blushed at the thought and finally forced herself to remember…

'_The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London.'_

At once, the two houses they were standing before began to shift away from one another, then, on further thought, they were actually forced out of the way by a third house, which squeezed itself into existence between number eleven and thirteen.

Not in the slightest surprised or shocked by the Fidelius Charm, the two new colleagues stepped one-two-three steps upwards to the heavy wooden front door. Remus tapped the door with his wand and Tonks heard the rustling of chains behind the wood. The door opened and Remus gestured for her to enter – keeping after her in gentlemanly habit – just murmuring a hushed "Please be as quiet as you can in the hallway" into her ear as she passed him.

Tonks felt goosebumps erupting up and down her spine at the almost contact. And when the words finally proceeded into her brain, she mentally cursed. Being quiet had never been one of her strengths. She stepped into the dark cold hallway and waited for Remus to lead the way. He took his time to lock the door and then, throwing her a brief smile that made her knees weak, passed her and mentioned her to follow.

He led a way straight towards a door opposite the entrance. Tonks silently thanked Merlin for the straight way. She followed him towards the door where he stood, holding it open for her and had almost reached the other room.

Almost.

For the first – but eventually not the last – time her foot caught in the heaviest, ugliest umbrella stand she had ever seen and would ever see. She went straight for the floor, but Remus' reflexes, unbeknownst to him or anyone else – save in battle – rescued her.

He abandoned his grip on the door and reached for the falling girl. He caught her just in time. Her heart was racing. Her face flushed. Her breath caught.

Remus held his breath, too. Partly, because he was listening for any sign of Mrs Black, partly because this beautiful, intelligent, witty witch was laying in his arms. He could not deny that he did not like her this close.

Relieved that the noisy crash had been avoided, they both released their held breath in unison. Their eyes locked, they smiled nervously.

Then they heard it. The quiet but unmistakable sound of a circular object swaying on its bottom. They looked around. The troll-leg-umbrella-stand was gently swaying in the cold darkness. They could do nothing but watch. Watch and pray. But praying never helps, they both knew.

It swayed and swayed and then the inevitable happened. It crashed to the floor with a horribly loud noise. At once the curtains covering an ancient portrait of an old, scary looking witch flew to the sides and the witch began to scream and curse like mad.

Remus lowered Tonks gently onto the ground into a sitting position and rushed forward to pull at the curtains. The young witch just sat in the hallway as if stupor-ed. Had she not just tripped over a troll leg and were there no portrait of a sodding old hag screaming at her that she was a filthy freak, Tonks would – of course – have run to Remus' side and helped. But she was,… well… stunned. Part of her even thought she must be dreaming.

And then a man came running down the stairs in the middle of the hallway. He seized one of the curtains and together he and Remus pulled them closed. They shut the other portraits in the hallway up, too, which had begun to shout as well. The house was quiet again.

Tonks barely noticed the men talking to each other and the unknown one disappear up the stairs again. Something in him was familiar. Remus gently grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet again, her mouth agape by now and only her eyes showing him the countless questions she couldn't decide which one to ask first.

"I'll explain. If you would follow me," suggested Remus, an amused smirk now creeping onto his face.

Tonks did as she was asked and followed him into the kitchen of number twelve, Grimmauld Place.

The door snapped shut behind them. The umbrella stand lay abandoned in the hallway, ready to strike again.

* * *

_Phew. This was so much fun writing! XD Sorry for it being so short!_

_I'll much appreciate comments!_

_Who was the mysterious guy helping Remus pull the curtains? Will Tonks chicken out, after all? And does the umbrella stand really have a life of its own? Find out again in the next chapter, hopefully!_


	3. Actions Speak Louder Than Words

_Okay guys, I'm really sorry for the mistakes in the last chapter, I'll clear them when I have the time!_

_Thanks again for comments…_

* * *

_**If Wishes Were Thestrals, Beggars Would Ride**_

"_Actions Speak Louder Than Words"_

Remus sat quite alone in the waiting room at St.Mungo's. It was early evening and the visitors' time was over. But he had stayed. Tonks was leaving hospital that evening and he wanted to be by her side.

During the last year, the young Metamorphmagus had grown on Remus. Well, actually, this was an understatement. He had positively fallen in love with her. And yet, he would not do anything about it. How could a vibrant, young woman like her possibly love an old werewolf like him?

Remus shook his head as if to drive away the depressing thoughts. One week before, his best friend had died. Now he was the last one of the Marauders left. He had cried, alone in his room at Grimmauld Place, so no one would see him. The loss of his friend had striked hard. And yet, Remus couldn't help but think about Tonks' smile, her dark sparkling eyes, her soft hair, smelling of apples. The feel of her embrace when he first visited her here, in this unpersonal, sterile building.

The battle of the Department of Mysteries still hung in the air when Tonks appeared at the door to the waiting room, wearing her jeans and Weird Sisters t-shirt, her expression tired but thankful in seeing Remus there, her hair the usual pink, only maybe two or three shades paler than he was accustomed to.

They had hurried to Harry's rescue the other week, Sirius ignoring the order to stay at headquarters. They had arrived to find a bunch of fifth-years dueling the Death Eaters, and had instantly picked up their fight for the prophecy. At the end of the battle, Sirius had been killed by his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, who had previously knocked Tonks out, and Harry had escaped Voldemort for the fifth time in his life.

Remus surpressed the urge to let out a sigh. He looked up to find Tonks observing him closely from her place at the door. Remus smiled at her briefly and stood up, stretching. He rubbed his tired eyes and then moved towards her, half intending to back her up against the doorframe and kiss her.

He settled for a tight embrace, in which Tonks snuggled up at once. He breathed in the scent of her hair and felt her shiver involuntarily. Tonks' heart pounded fast in her chest as Remus scooped her up in his arms. She had not expected that kind of welcome, but was pleased nonetheless. She could feel the butterflies awaken, the ones that only Remus could seem to stir.

They broke apart after a while and Remus – being the gentleman he was – took her bag from her hands and gestured her to go.

"How are you?" asked Remus tentatively. He was still worried that she was leaving the hospital too early.

"Physically, brilliant," she answered quietly. There was a moments' silence, then- "Bellatrix wanted to torture me." Tonks spoke slowly and quietly, as if she was choosing her words carefully. "I was lucky, though, her Crutiatus Curse didn't hit me because I fell over those stone benches and knocked myself out. Maybe she thought a Death Curse had hit me, I dunno, but…"

Tonks glanced at Remus through her fringe as they stepped into the elevator. "Then she concentrated on Sirius," he offered.

"Yes."

Remus pushed the button and the doors of the elevator slammed shut. "Nymphadora, it's not your fault, you hear me?"

He looked sideways at her to see tears shining in her eyes. Remus put an arm around Tonks' shoulders and pulled her towards him. She buried her face in his shirt. "I miss him so much." Her words were muffled through his garments.

The elevator halted and the doors opened. Tonks let go of Remus' shirt, but he let his arm stay around her shoulders. They exited the hospital and walked down the London street in the twilight when Remus remembered that he did not even know where she was staying at that night. Grimmauld Place was no option until Dumbledore had confirmed that Harry had inherited the house and elf. He would have offered her to stay at his place but that had been a room at headquarters for the last year and he was still on search for a new place to live.

"Are you staying at your parents'?" Remus therefore asked as the first drops of warm summer rain fell to the ground and formed odd patterns on the street and sidewalk.

Tonks ignored the fact that her shirt and hair were already damp. "No. They visited yesterday and I told them I'd rather stay here in London. I suppose Grimmauld Place is not safe at the moment?"

Remus glanced at her and noticed a droplet of water rolling down the length of her nose. "Precisely. So you intend to return to your apartment?" he asked.

"Mhm." Tonks fidgeted with her hands, her heartbeat picking up. "Would you… well… stay with me?"

Remus' head whipped round to stare at her. Could it be…? His arm around her shoulders tightened slightly. He had the urge to smile. He fought that urge and lost.

He smiled at her affectionately. Her knees went weak and she quickly locked her gaze on the asphalt. "I don't want to be alone." _I want to be with you_, she mentally added.

"Of course. I would be honoured to occupy your settee for the night," Remus answered. He imagined her smiling. He could not see her face because she had averted her gaze, but he liked the thought of her being happy about his decision.

Remus mentally scolded himself. He should not get his hopes up. They had become friends over the one year together in the Order. Sirius had of course helped the process immensely, since he had always talked Tonks into staying at Grimmaulds'. At least since last christmas she had had her own room at headquarters. Sirius had actually charmed the walls pink as a surprise, but Tonks had turned them some orange-yellowish colour instead, which clashed horribly with her trademark pink hair. Remus smiled to himself at that. It was a sad reminiscent smile and it had a bitter aftertaste.

"We're there."

The quiet voice broke through his train of thought and Remus started. Tonks fiddled with the keys and lifted the protection spells rather nervously, while she attempted to stop herself from thinking about the fact that Remus Lupin was going to stay at her flat for the whole night.

She felt bad for being happy though her favorite cousin had died a mere week ago. She felt ashamed for wanting to bathe in Remus' embrace, she felt sorry for loving instead of grieving. She had fallen head over heels for this man now standing at her side, months ago…

Maybe she'd been in love with him even before that day. She had only just realised it past Christmas. Sirius had decorated almost every doorframe with mistletoe and people were carefully avoiding to bump into one another in these precise places. But as Tonks had never been one to think too carefully about where she was going – or standing – she had been kissed under the mistletoe by George Weasley, who had pecked her cheek, by Dumbledore, who had actually kissed her hand and by Sirius himself, who had wrapped her in his arms and pretended to dramatically snog her, all the while keeping his lips – thankfully – firmly pressed together and making her laugh for at least twenty minutes afterwards.

All these traditional kisses had been, well, traditional, and she was simply flattered by the gestures.

But then Remus had stepped through the front door as she had been about to leave and Sirius, who had supposedly been lurking in a corner of the hallway to witness exactly that scene, had suddenly appeared and urged them to kiss. Not that she would have wanted to ignore tradition, after all.

Remus had bent down and she had closed her eyes when his lips had brushed hers. The feeling had been overwhelming. Her knees had gone weak, her heart pounding so loudly that she had been surprised Sirius hadn't mentioned it afterwards. Her stomach had tingled all over, nothing had ever felt like this to Tonks.

It had been when she'd stepped into the cold night air, that the thought occurred to her that she might harbour some kind of affection for Remus.

She was still trying to shove the key into the keyhole when she felt Remus' hand on hers. She looked up. He smiled kindly and took the keys from her hand, putting it into the hole without much effort and turned three times. Tonks blushed and pushed the door open, slipping out of her trainers and continuing on in socks. Remus copied her and placed her bag on the floor beside a small cupboard where she had dropped the keys.

Remus caught up with her in the kitchen. "Would you like something to eat?" she asked, rummaging in the cupboards under the sink.

"Thanks, but I'm not particularly hungry," he answered, looking around at the room. It was pretty tidy, apart from the mess inside the cupboards. Having seen her room at Grimmauld Place, Remus suspected her mother having had a hand in this case.

"That's a relief, actually, because I can't cook. Something to drink?" she tried again, "Cup of tea?"

"That would be nice," Remus sat down at the table and watched her retrieve a kettle, pour some water into it and tap it with her wand at last. Her movements were not as forceful as normally, her hands were trembling like they had with the keys in them, and then Tonks was determinedly staring at the kettle.

Remus worried if she did want him there, if it was him who was making her nervous, or if it were the felling of guilt which was interfering her usually so purposeful actions. He didn't like seeing her this way.

Tonks on the other hand – desperately wishing for the kettle to whistle so she would have something to do with her hands – worried if Remus actually wanted to be with her. Maybe he had only agreed to make her feel better, but would rather be anywhere alse? It was not at all like her to worry like that, even if she had the best evidence that Remus at least liked her as a friend.

She was unconsciously reminded of the kiss they had shared half a year ago. Even at the memory her stomach made funny little jolts.

"Nymphadora?"

She looked up, startled. The water was already boiling. She poured two cups of tea and mentioned Remus to follow her to the living room. They sat down on the settee in silence.

As Remus watched her intently over his cup of tea, he thought she was far away. When had she drifted off? He thought she hadn't been there in the first place. Not since Sirius had died.

Tonks' living room featured a settee, a coffee table, a cupboard crammed with books and a music player. It was pretty small, but due to a bunch of pillows and blankets, Remus thought it was pretty cosy.

His mouth suddenly felt very dry.

"Remus?" Her voice was very quiet and he leaned over to hear her properly. "How will it be, from now on? Without Sirius…"

Remus carefully put his cup down onto the coffee table then, in an afterthought, he took hers from her hands and sat it on the table, too.

He looked at her and then positioned himself closer to her. He pulled her into his arms, making both their heartbeats pick up instantly. He wrapped his arms tightly around her back, holding her firmly.

"He'll always be with us. As long as we do not forget him." His voice was steady, though inwardly he ached.

"How could one ever forget Sirius?" Tonks half sobbed, half snorted. Remus chuckled lightly. The rain poured against the living room window, making the small room seem even more comfortable. Remus ran his right hand through Tonks' hair, making her shiver in anticipation. Her hands rested on his chest, more likely his jumper, and suddenly it dawned on Remus that maybe Tonks did indeed feel more than friendship for him. Almost instantly, something light settled in his stomach, he believed it was called "hope".

He pulled away slightly to try and see what she was feeling, thinking. Her dark sparkling eyes returned his gaze. He tried to tell the emotions shining at him apart, he thought there was sadness, – most definitely in connection with Padfoot – doubt – was she doubting his feelings? Because there was no need to – and most importantly he could clearly see affection staring back at him. Maybe even more.

That last bit got him and ever so slowly he bent down and captured her lips in a kiss. It was an innocent kiss, he traced her lips with his, but all too soon he pulled away. Her eyes had closed at the contact, her dreams had come true. She was prickling all over, goosebumps appearing up and down her body, and she couldn't think straight anymore.

Remus watched the beautiful eyes flutter and open, and now it was unmistakable what she felt for him, her eyes were full of love. He placed his hands on either side of her face and placed his lips on hers once more, intending to make sure she knew exactly that the feeling was mutual.

His insides began to dance and his fingers itched to touch her everywhere at once. He slid a hand into her hair, the other gliding down her arm and settling around her waist, pulling her into him. Her right hand traced his cheek and neck, making _him_ shiver this time, the other hand clutching at the front of his jumper.

Remus deepened the kiss and felt Tonks melt against his touch. He could not think of anything but her and how it felt wonderful to finally be loved in return. He couldn't quite believe his luck.

But who was he to complain?

Instead, he lowered her carefully onto her back, gently pressing her to the cushions of the settee. Tonks responded by pulling him nearer and he slowly lowered himself on top of her, never bothering to break the kiss.

But then, a horrible thought occurred to him and he pulled away. Tonks' eyes snapped open, a worried expression taking up residence on her beautiful pale face.

"You're not doing this," he gestured vaguely at the little space between them, "to comfort yourself, do you?"

Tonks' eyes widened and for a moment Remus thought she was about to slap him. But she only curtly shook her head. "Are you?" she asked uncertainly, her brows furrowing.

"Never."

And he smiled reassuringly at her before claiming her lips in a more passionate kiss this time, leaving her no doubt about his motives…

* * *

_You did not earnestly expect me to write a lemon, did you?_

_Well, sorry for the cheesy-ness at the end, I hope it was not too bad. But then again, that's why you read it, huh? What with the "romance" category? smug look_

_Will they actually end up in bed together? (I imagine, yes, hehe.) Will Sirius' ghost haunt them for the rest of their lives? And why the bloody hell's it gotten so cold all of a sudden in the middle of July?_

_Finding out is up to you! XD Please Review!_


	4. It Is Foolish To Fear

_**If Wishes Were Thestrals, Beggars Would Ride**_

"_It Is Foolish To Fear That Which You Cannot Avoid"_

The last year had been miserable.

Nymphadora Tonks couldn't believe it. In the last few hours her emotiones had seemingly ridden a rollercoaster.

Remus had – nine months after joining the werewolf pack as a spy – returned to safer ground. He had left her on Dumbledore's orders, and infiltrated the group of werewolves around Fenrir Greyback. Tonks hadn't heard from him since October the previous year. She had been stationed at Hogsmeade, as an additional safety post. She had lived nine months, heartbroken, and worrying beyond everyone else, worrying that every second she might be informed that Remus had failed his mission, that he had been discovered and murdered. The evenings in her apartment the previous summer were so far away.

They had been happy. So very happy. And then Dumbledore had burdened this mission on Remus. Tonks remembered his facial expression when he'd told her. He had been desperate. Desperate for her to understand that they could not have any contact as long as he was with the pack. It had broken her heart. She had seen the tears in his eyes when he had kissed her farewell.

Since then she had been only partly alive. She had been thinking – in the few weeks between Sirius' death and Remus departure – that they had a future, together. But it all had shattered because of this war.

She teared her mousy brown hair.

Only a few hours before she had been summoned to Hogwarts, to patrol the castle in the absence of Albus Dumbledore. She had entered the school to meet up with McGonagall and Bill, but there'd been a third familiar face standing in the entrance hall, waiting for her arrival.

Remus.

Tears were falling slowly from her eyes into her lap.

He had looked at her and his eyes had told her everything. All the feelings, the hurt, the pain, the grief, the love, he had been abandoning nine undoubtedly horrible months. He was thin and pale, his face even more lined and his robes featuring a couple of new patches. He had looked tired and then- relieved. Utterly relieved to see that she was alive.

She had stepped up to him and flung her arms around his neck, tears falling silently from her eyes when he'd returned the embrace.

_He's alive_, she'd thought, _he's alive and everything is going to be fine._

But then the Death Eaters had entered the school, and they'd fought with everything they had. The Order had finally driven them away, but at a horrible cost. They had gathered in the hospital wing, what with Bill Weasley having been attacked by Greyback. And then Harry and Ginny had turned up, with them the message that Dumbledore was dead.

Remus had been desperate. She'd wanted to comfort him, wanted him to know she was there…

And then he'd taken this ridiculous attitude about being too old, too poor and too dangerous for her. Her world had broken apart again that moment. She'd been under the impression that now, that his mission was over, they could pick up from where he had left them nine fateful months ago.

Tonks had not been able to take life any longer. She had exited the hospital wing shortly after McGonagall had taken Harry away. She was hiding in a secret passageway on the fifth floor, crying as silently as she could. She drew her legs up against her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

She sat there for a long time, until finally the tears became less and less and eventually stopped falling. What was the point of crying anyway?

The pink-haired girl wiped the tears from her face, drenching her robes in the process. She sniffed once more and stood up, pushing the tapestry – which covered the passage – away to step out into the corridor.

Before she could even notice the faint rose-yellowish glow on the horizon outside the window, indicating the sunrise, she collided with someone. But before she was able to hit the ground, two strong arms grasped her waist and steadied her. She didn't even need to look at him to know it was Remus. She smelled the unmistakable mixture of aroma that was Remus. She'd given up on trying to define what exactly he smelled of.

Her heart felt heavier than just a minute ago, and her body reacted very strangely to his sudden contact. Her face flushed, her pulse quickened and her eyes watered. But the butterflies Remus had always managed to send into overdrive reacted as if nothing had ever happened. Right like that time under the mistletoe. And the time when she'd been home from St. Mungo's and he had started this whole thing. Even every other time after that she had never felt any less for him.

"I've been looking for you," he stated calmly. His voice was hoarse, even more than usually, she supposed the recent death of their hope along with Dumbledore had affected him even more than his rejection had affected her.

Maybe he simply didn't know better?

"Now you've found me," Tonks said. She didn't know how or what to respond anymore. Why had he come for her? Hadn't their little fight from before been enough? Did he want to kill her?

"Can I talk to you?" he asked softly and then added, "More importantly, will you listen to me?"

Tonks hesitated for a second but then she turned and unceremoniously tugged at the tapestry she had just appeared from. Remus stepped into the passage and she followed, sitting down where she had sat before. Remus kneeled down in front of her.

"Tonks,… Nymphadora…" Remus began but he did not get very far. She had locked eyes with him and his only reaction was following his instinct. He leant forward and caught her in a tight embrace. "I missed you."

Tonks' breath caught in her chest and she struggled a second – afraid that every moment he would walk out on her again – but finally lost to her pounding heart and leaned into him.

Remus settled himself against the wall behind him, taking Tonks with him in the process. She was sitting between his legs in a kind of sideways way, so that her head was comfortably snuggled in his chest. She could feel him trembling and tried to assure him by sneaking a hand around his waist.

"I'm sorry, Nymphadora," he started and then stopped, apparently struggling to find the right words.

"I know what I want – what I _need_ – to be happy. It's you. But I need you to be sure. I need you to know what you're getting yourself into. And don't just say 'I don't care', because that does not count," he added because Tonks had opened her mouth to respond, a defiant look in her eyes.

"I need you to fully understand that I am to turn into a bloodthirsty monster once a month, and now without Snape and the Wolfsbane potion it will be even more dangerous and painful." He paused to choose his next words, looking furious at the memory of the man who had killed Dumbledore, brewing potion to help him live through the full moon nights for nearly two years in a row.

"Apart from that, I own little more than a few books and a set of patched robes. I do not even have a place to live and do not expect this fact to change anytime soon."

Tonks pulled away slightly to look him in the eyes. She could almost see his inward struggle. On the one hand he was afraid. Afraid of hurting her, of losing control over himself, hurting anyone and, maybe, also afraid to open his heart to her. One the other hand he desperatly wanted her to say words which would dissolve all his doubts and assure him that they'd be fine. Together.

Nymphadora Tonks had never been one to admit defeat.

"Remus, look," she started, taking his hands into hers, "You've lived your whole life to up to this point and never hurt someone. You've spent countless fullmoons and never injured a person! Why do you think it would be any other way if we were involved?"

Remus returned her gaze, his brows furrowed. She could see that he wanted her words to be true, wanted to believe her.

She pleaded him to understand, with her words and her eyes, her hands tenderly rubbing his larger ones, that she did know the risk. She may be only twenty-four years old, but she was not a child.

"And as for your wealth… Remus I'm sorry, but I could really not care less. Do you honestly think of me as the material type?" Tonks smiled sadly. "I thought you know me better."

A tiny, hesitant smile crept onto his face, and it was not missed by Tonks. She raised one of her hands and lightly rested it on Remus' cheek. He covered her small hand with one of his.

"Don't ever leave me again…" Tonks pleaded and Remus looked straight into her big sparkling eyes, whispering "I promise.", before he lowered his head and placed his lips over hers. Had the medium sized spider not descended onto Tonks' head right in the middle of their snog, Remus would have taken her right then and there.

…

A couple of days later they attended Dumbledores funeral. Remus had only once been to a funeral, Lily and James' one, and it did bring up old, sad memories. But Remus did not have to suffer or grieve alone anymore, no, he had a beautiful witch by his side, who sympathetically squeezed his hand as the silent tears began to fall.

Remus was grateful, now more than he ever had been in the past, that Tonks was with him. And he was with her, squeezing her hand in return.

* * *

_So chapter four done, too! Yay!_

_One more to go… and I'm having writers block. Well, as I'm writing this in one go, so I'll have no pressure whatsoever from you impatient reviewers (if there even ARE some), it's nothing to worry about. Maybe you'll read this on Christmas 2010, I don't know…. Hehe. No really, I try to complete this before I put it up, but I want to make it good. Really GOOD. Bloody brilliant. Spectacular!_

_I hope I'll succeed. Let me know if I did. Do._

_Will this war be easier to endure with a partner? Is Remus finally cured from his noble attitude of "I'm a danger to you"? And will I ever get myself to write a lemon? (To the last one; probably not.) **Review** and find out!_


	5. Promises Are Made To Be Kept

_Hey guys. Now the finale is here. I want to thank my reviewers! You guys really made me happy! :) Enjoy._

* * *

_**If Wishes Were Thestrals, Beggars Would Ride**_

"_Promises Are Made To Be Kept"_

Remus Lupin closed his eyes. This was it then. The end. A single tear escaped the corner of his left eye and rolled towards his temple, where it disappeared into his hair.

How he wished he'd seen her only one more time...

Remus had never considered himself very brave. He had been positively awed when the Sorting Hat had called out "GRYFFINDOR!!" upon being placed on young Remus' head. He had always thought he would be put in Ravenclaw, because he was very fond of books and his parents even called him clever, or even Hufflepuff, for they would teach "the rest". His parents... he would soon see them again. And Sirius and James and the whole lot.

He smiled weakly. This was a cold comfort for leaving the one he truly loved. Dora... she would break because of him. Again. He had hurt her so much over the last three years and yet he was never going to be able to make it up to her.

And his son. Teddy. The reason he had left Dora last autumn. He had been so afraid that his son would inherit his lycanthropy. He had been afraid for no reason. Teddy was as normal as a Metamorphmagus could be.

A second tear followed the first one. Remus didn't dare move, his whole body hurt like hell. He breathed in deeply, trying to calm himself. He was not afraid of dying.

He just didn't want to.

Since the murder of his friends James and Lily he had not cared if he died. He had not treasured his life like Nymphadora always had. She had changed that. His tears were flowing fast now. Doras laughing face appeared before his mental eye. And quickly afterwards the one of an infant, his hair sporting a bright turquoise colour. Remus sobbed silently.

She had given his life a purpose after Padfoot had departed again and for good. She had comforted him and shown him the meaning of "being happy". Yes, he was happy and grateful about the few months he had shared with Nymphadora. He would always treasure these memories.

His head ached.

He knew that in a few minutes his lifelight would fade and he would die. He recalled the situation over in his mind to stop himself from thinking about his family. It hurt too much. He had been battling Dolohov. They had been almost equally strong. But then Aberforth Dumbledore had run by the pair of fighters and shouted something like: "Finish him off, Lupin, your wife's come looking for yer!" and Remus had been positively shocked by that kind of news, so shocked in fact, that Dolohov had striked and hit Remus with a spell in the chest. And he had fallen.

Right... Aberforth had told him... Dora was here!

Remus snapped his eyes open, a look of horror on his face. She can't be. She was supposed to stay with Teddy!

Remus struggled to sit up, but he wasn't even able to move a muscle. He turned his head, intending to catch a glimpse of his wand, but he couldn't see very much, for everything was blurred.

So he concentrated on listening instead. The sound of war and screams of pain and agony had subsided considerably, that much he could tell. He guessed - from the weak sunlight above him - that it was early morning, maybe around seven o'clock. He heard distant footsteps and tried to scream or make any sound at all, but his voice had already died. He laid on the Hogwarts grounds, almost halfway around the castle counting from the entrance.

Was there any chance for him to be found before he died? He wanted to be sure Dora was okay...

He tried shouting once more, but again he didn't succeed. The footsteps died away. Remus was desperate. He wanted so badly to just stand up and find Dora, then they would return home to Teddy. Everything would be alright...

His head began to throb badly, Remus knew he did not have much time left. Silently, he prayed for his wife and son to be safe and sound. Then his vision became blurry until his eyelids closed of their own, ignoring his plea to stay awake. Remus struggled very hard to contain his mind, but it was no minute before he lost. His brain shut down and the last thing he saw in his head was a pair of dark sparkling eyes...

…

Nymphadora Lupin, née Tonks, married to Remus John Lupin and mother of the little Metamorphmagus Teddy Remus Lupin, was desperately clutching at the trunk of a large fallen tree at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Tears stung in her eyes. Where was her wand? She had been expelliarmus-ed, she was sure, but who had it been? She was not willing to think one of the bad guys had merely disarmed her. Maybe it had been one of Harry's friends, one of the DA?

She blinked rapidly. Her vision was blurry but got better after a few moments. She looked around the grass and the branches and the blood and everything else that was laying about. There was no way she'd be able to find her wand-

There! She actually squealed. It was laying only a few inches from her foot. Carefully, she bent down to pick it up, wincing at her broken leg. She felt the familiar curve of her wand, a tear rolled down her cheek and she pointed the tip of the wand at the area of her leg, where she guessed it was broken.

"_Episkey."_

She didn't wait for the pain to subside, she wiped her sleeve over her eyes and ran. She had a vague idea where Remus had been heading, Kingsley, the new Minister for Magic, had told her before everything had gone haywire. She headed towards the entrance of the castle, not paying the slightest attention to the clashing holes in the walls, the gigantic pieces of whom were now strewn across the grounds. There were voices, people shouting at each other or her – she didn't care, had she ever? – the explosions that had filled the air minutes before, the crashs of falling soldiers, the sound of charms and curses hitting one another, had faded. But all this she did not hear. People were laying everywhere, but she did not take a look at them. Her eyes merely scanned her view for the familiar patched, brown robes.

_Remus, where are you?_

…

Remus had accepted death. He knew it was inevitable. And if death meant to be seeing those piercing, dark eyes for ever, he thought he could bear it.

But why was he still thinking?

Slowly, painfully, he lifted his eyelids and got in return a blurred vision of clear blue sky. The sound was back, too. He heard birds singing and the rustle of the trees in the wind. And he actually _felt_ the breeze.

This wasn't dying, was it?

He moved his hand before his eyes and examined it. Stop. He moved his hand. He made a fist. He _moved_ his hand. This wasn't dying! He hastily lifted his other hand. It was usable, too. He could've screamed, he could've cried and laughed at the same time. He had a chance. Remus groped for his wand. Luckily he found it not far from his right hand. He half intended to perform a _Levicorpus_ to lift himself off the ground. Instead, he propped himself up on his elbows and lifted his upper body.

_Well_, he thought dryly, _my robes need some new patches_.

He sat up and looked around. There were only few bodies laying near him. He recognised none of them. His body still aching badly, he tried to stand and succeeded – to his own surprise – at second attempt.

_Dora!_

He needed to find her. He set off, staggering slightly, head still throbbing, legs barely carrying him, but silently praying for his wife and son to be all safe and sound. His thoughts were so focused that he thought he was hallucinating at first.

…

Tonks had been heading in the direction of Hogwarts' entrance, but several meters before reaching the giant wooden doors, she had turned right and made her unsteady, slightly limping way along the wall and round the foot of the astronomy tower where Dumbledore had fallen one year before.

Had it really been only one year? It seemed like a lifetime to Tonks. What had happened since then… her and Remus being finally together, she'd been so happy. She smiled at the thought of him proposing to her. He had become all gentlemanly and kneed before her, had taken her hand and- Tonks let out a loud sob. When she had told him she was having a baby, the look of sheer felicity on his face – before he had gotten all obssessed with their child being born as a werewolf.

He had left her, yes, but he came back, saying that Harry was right and he was wrong and that all he wanted was to be with her and he wanted to believe that their baby would be healthy but he was so afraid… and her? She had taken him back, knowing she always would. Her mother might have not understood her, but she loved him so much. And he loved her, she knew that. All the pain he had caused her was because he wanted the best for her, he just had not seen until then that best for her was him.

At last, her memory reached Remus, their son in his arms and telling her why not name him Ted? She could've cried. In fact, she had cried. Happy tears. And Remus had been smiling the whole time. He had looked years younger.

Tonks was crying by now, which made her task not easier, because she did not see where she was going anymore.

And then a pair of strong arms wrapped around her. She wanted to go on, wanted to tell whoever it was that she had to go on, that her husband was somewhere here and she needed to find him. And then her mind procceeded the words he whispered into her ear.

"You're alive…thank Merlin, you're alive…."

It was a weak, quiet whisper, but suddenly everything was clear. Her heart leapt and her breath caught. She pulled away.

He felt her pull away and looked down into the pair of most enticing and beautiful eyes he had ever seen. His wife was looking up at him with eyes the size of snitches, unbelievingly, desperate and relieved. How she was getting all this into one look, he didn't know, and he didn't care.

He captured her lips and kissed her like he had never kissed anyone before. The pair stumbled and Tonks' back collided with the solid wall of the castle behind her, while she wrapped her arms around his neck to cling onto him. He supposed she had not been able to remain upright. He was having difficulty himself.

He unlocked his lips from hers and looked at her face. She was flushed and beaming at him. He found himself laughing as well, his heart filled with relief and joy and love. He felt he was going to burst from the inside and enfolded her into his arms, feeling her rapid heartbeat against his own.

"Teddy's with your mum?" he asked into her ear. She nodded into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry… but I just couldn't stay at home…" she whispered against his jumper, almost as if she was expecting him to scold her. He released her only an inch or two.

"You don't need to be sorry, love. There's nothing I would've wanted to see more than you right now. Maybe you with our son, but well…" he grinned at her and trailed off.

She smiled back at him and pulled him towards her again. "I'm so glad you're alive."

"Did you actually expect me to get defeated? Me? The great Remus Lupin?" he joked and she laughed, though a sob was still mingled in the sound. "As much as I'd fancy to stay right here with you and snog, I really think I need to see Madam Pomfrey…"

Tonks looked at her husband. His robes were torn, his hair ruffled, right how she had made it look every morning when waking him up. He had a few nasty cuts on his forearms and a trail of blood trickled down his cheek. His movements were jittery.

Nevertheless, Remus Lupin draped an arm around his wife's shoulders and led her back to the castle, eager to find out what the future would bring.

It was clear to them, even before they had actually reached the entrance of Hogwarts Castle, that victory was on their side. There were voices, countless, various voices, cheering, jubilating, chatting excitedly, but also sad voices, crying about the loss, the cost of their freedom.

They crossed the entrance hall with mixed feelings, unsure of what they would find. How many lives had the battle required?

At first, nobody noticed the young Auror and the Werewolf standing in the doorway to the Great Hall. They had time to observe the scene; there were people everywhere, laying in each others' arms, crying out of happiness or despair. There were several Weasleys, Arthur and Molly, Ginny and Charlie and Bill and George. Percy was there, too. They looked like they were torn between glorious celebration of their victory and dying of grief. Remus knew why. They were two redheads short.

"Fred…and Ron… oh, no… " Remus heard Tonks whisper by his side. She clapped a hand onto her mouth and tears started to fall all over again.

Remus pulled her towards him and scanned the people for one in particular. But Harry was nowhere to be seen. Remus panicked and backed away into the entrance hall again, pulling his wife with him.

Tonks found his gaze and upon the horror that was written there, she understood.

"Harry?" breathed Tonks disbelievingly. But Voldemort was dead, wasn't he? The people in there celebrated the defeat of the darkest wizard of their time, but where was Harry Potter?

Her answer came in form of footsteps from the great marble staircase. Three pairs of footsteps. Remus and Tonks turned around and gasped. There was Harry, apart from a few cuts and bruises all sound, and Ron and Hermione, who else would have been with him?

They broke into wide smiles at the sight of Remus and Tonks and rushed forward to greet them. Tonks immediately pulled Harry into a bone breaking hug, while Hermione attempted to fuss over Remus' wounds. When Tonks finally turned her attention on Ron and Hermione, hugging both of them, too, Remus stepped up to Harry.

The boy looked at him, happily, and Remus knew he was prosperous that he would finally be able to live a normal life.

"I'm so glad to see you," Harry spoke, meeting Remus' eyes. "When we didn't see you two in the Great Hall at last, we thought…" And Harry broke off, not able to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat.

Remus placed his hands on Harry's shoulders. "I'm very very proud of you, Harry." He hesitated. "I may not be your godfather, but if you finally wanted a real home…" He looked briefly over at Tonks, who was listening to Hermione filling her in on the end of Voldemort and his followers.

Harry's face lit up. "You mean… I could live with you?" he asked incredulously.

Remus nodded. "Teddy would be delighted to have a big brother, I'm sure."

As if on cue, a group of people appeared at the doors of Hogwart's entrance, many of them students, who were ordered to leave the castle because they were under age. In the middle of the crowd, Remus could make out a familiar figure. A tall, slender woman with dark brown hair and a pale face was rushing towards Tonks and Hermione. She pulled her daughter into a tight embrace, leaving the squealing and fussing baby Teddy in Tonks' arms when she pulled back.

Tonks' face was shining with bright happiness at her family being together and she carried the little infant over to where Remus still stood with Harry. Slowly, the people realised what had happened and the newcomers, as well as the people from the Great Hall, assailed Harry with congratulations and thank yous all over.

Remus called a "Find us in the Hospital Wing, later" over to the boy with the messy black hair who shot him a look that clearly stated _rather sooner than later_.

And so Remus, one arm again around Tonks' shoulders, mounted the stairs to the deserted Hospital Wing, while tickling his son, who had snuggled into his mother's arms.

"You know, Remus," Tonks told him, once they were out of earshot, "Life is going to be really boring from now on…"

He frowned at her and then saw her wide smile and her sparkling eyes. "I think," he responded equally earnest, "I'd like a boring life, for once."

_The End._

* * *

_Oh. Bloody. Hell. I'm done. PLEASE REVIEW, I appreciate criticism._

_Yeah, the idea of Harry moving in with Remus and Tonks and Teddy came from **Mrs.Tater**'s story "The Honeymooners", which I can only recommend. I like the idea of Harry finally having a real home._

_Its 11:53 pm right now, and I'm not the least bit tired, can you believe that? I can. I'm gonna watch some movie next, to make myself tired and go to bed…_

_Well, I really hope you all enjoyed!_


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